Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Obama Touts Early Success For Health Law In California

USA Today: Obama Pitches Health Care Exchanges In Calif. Visit
President Obama on Friday highlighted a concentrated, localized strategy to encourage young Americans to enroll in the new health care exchanges. "Competition and choice are pushing down costs in the individual market, just like the law is designed to do," Obama said during remarks in San Jose, Calif. California is one of three states key to the 2010 health care law's expansion of health insurance to all Americans -- but especially young people (Kennedy, 6/7).

Los Angeles Times: Obama Cites California To Tout His Healthcare Law
President Obama Friday morning held up California as an example of how his healthcare law will help consumers, citing the state's progress getting health insurers to offer better plans at affordable prices. "A lot of opponents of the Affordable Care Act … had all kinds of sky-is-falling, doom-and -gloom predictions that not only would the law fail, but what we would also see is costs would skyrocket," the president told reporters at a stop in Silicon Valley. "It turns out that what we are seeing in the states that have committed themselves to implementing this law corectly, we’re seeing some good news." Obama also urged Californians and other American who don’t have health coverage to sign up this fall (Levey and Parson, 6/7).

The Associated Press: Obama Pitches New Health Care Law In California
President Barack Obama on Friday encouraged the uninsured or those paying high prices for health insurance to sign up for coverage under his health care law and urged opponents to stop wasting time continuing to fighting its implementation. Obama used a trip to California to highlight how the state is implementing the Affordable Care Act and refute continuing criticism over his signature legislative achievement. He touted an effort in the state to recruit Hispanics in particular to the health care exchanges that are being created to help millions of now-uninsured consumers afford coverage (Superville, 6/7).

NBC News: Obama: Health Care Overhaul 'Working The Way It's Supposed To'
Amid indications that the public has soured somewhat on his signature health care overhaul, President Barack Obama on Friday sought to highlight benefits of the law already in place and emphasize many of its forthcoming advantages. ... Obama’s renewed defense of the law he guided through Congress in 2009-10 comes after the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 49 percent of Americans said the law – “Obamacare,” colloquially – was a bad idea. That was the highest number of people to express such a view of the law since the poll began tracking sentiment on that issue in 2009 (O'Brien, 6/7).

Reuters: President Obama Takes Health Pitch To California After Rate Row
President Barack Obama insisted on Friday his healthcare overhaul is already proving worthwhile as he promoted the plan in California, where an argument is raging over whether it is living up to its name as the Affordable Care Act. "If you're one of 6 million Californians or tens of millions Americans who don't currently have health insurance, you'll soon be able to buy quality, affordable care just like everybody else," he said in San Jose, California. A part of the 2010 law that requires insurers to spend 80 percent of premiums on healthcare or reimburse money to consumers has prompted insurance companies to give rebates to consumers of $45 million this year in California, he added. "All of this is happening because of the Affordable Care Act," Obama said (Holland and Spetalnick, 6/7).

The Hill: Obama: Health Law Is Working Despite Critics' 'Fear Mongering'
Obama's pitch for the healthcare law comes at a crucial time. The administration, along with state governments, is just months away from opening new insurance marketplaces and beginning to enroll millions of people in new coverage options. ... Obama delivered his healthcare speech in California — a state that has had a smooth experience with the healthcare law so far, but is also far more invested in its success than other large states. Californians who use the state’s insurance exchange will be able to choose among 13 insurance companies. And though rates for some bare-bones policies will increase, premiums overall came in far lower than expected in California (Baker, 6/7).

The Hill: Obama Takes Stage Without Remarks: 'Folks Sweating Right Now'
President Obama took the stage Friday to discuss ObamaCare, only to find that his prepared remarks weren't at the podium. The president twice yelled "people!" to his staff before an aide hastily delivered his remarks to the podium. "Folks are sweating back there right now," Obama then said through a clenched grin (Sink, 6/7).